EdL 724 Practicum In Educational Leadership

Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership

College of Education and Human Services

UW Oshkosh

Kathleen M. Thomas

WISE 2 Practicum - Summer/Fall 2012


Library Practicum Experience


Course Description:
The practicum course will deal with a broad range of activities and representative issues in school and classroom leadership. The primary purpose of the course is to provide educational leadership students with an opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts studied in the prerequisite courses to actual day-to-day administration of a school library media center.

Course Objectives:
The objectives of the course are based on standards designed by the American Association of School Librarians and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. To fulfill these objectives, students will model:
  • Effective Use of Information and Ideas
  • Successful Teaching and Learning Experiences
  • Collaboration and Leadership Skills
  • Program Administration Skills

Course Requirements:
1. Participate in online discussions during the practicum experience. These discussions relate to the four roles of an LMS. Students are expected to post on a weekly basis.
2. Share readings, resources, and experiences with classmates.
3. Develop a practicum contract and complete objectives as outlined in the plan.
4. Keep a time log of activities to document 200 hours of library media activity. Your reflection of these activities is a critical component of this requirement. Half of the time will be at the K-5 level, half at the 6-12 level. Since this practicum will result in a K-12 license, it is HIGHLY recommended that you include hours at all three levels: K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. If your experience is occurring in your home district, you may complete 120 of the required 200 hours within your district. The remaining 80/200 hours must be completed at another school library (40 hours at the secondary level and 40 hours at the elementary level). The purpose of this is to become aware of how other libraries operate. There is a Third Party Practicum Participation Form available if you should choose to spend some hours in other school libraries.
5. Practicum students are required to teach a total of four lessons. Two (one K-5 lesson and one 6-12) lessons must be observed by the university supervisor while the other two lessons can be observed by licensed school library specialist mentors.
6. Complete an electronic portfolio containing artifacts related to your practicum experience as well as the overall program. Align your artifacts to the state standards showing competencies in all areas.